


How To Be A Parent

by orphan_account



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Daddy!Hiccup, F/M, I gave him a daughter not a son, Widower hiccup, main character death in first chapter, this is sad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-25
Updated: 2014-12-27
Packaged: 2018-03-03 09:43:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2846501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hiccup is thrown into the life of being a young single parent when his wife passes during childbirth.<br/>He has lost everything, his parents, his wife, and now he realises that his daughter is on borrowed time. He wants to make her short life one worth living...</p><p>(Post HTTYD2)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Taken from my FanFiction.net account and re-written.  
> (Watermelon-Dragon-Chibi)
> 
>  
> 
> **DISCLAIMER: this work is my own however HTTYD belongs to DreamWorks and Cressida Cowell**

_It's hard; being a parent._

_It didn't seem like it would be too difficult at first. We had it planned, Astrid and I; we were going to be happy. But things don't always go the way you want them to, and because of the uncertainty of the future I was shown a whole new perspective on life. But you know what? I wouldn't have changed it for the world._

* * *

 

" **Hicuuuup**!"

There was a lively commotion taking over the Haddock household later into the hours of night.  
The sound of various objects clattering to the ground was clearly audible followed by loud curses, and pained screams and wails that were in danger of waking the entire village up; save for the few Vikings that were so deep in slumber that they could even sleep through a Dragon Raid back in the day.

"Calm down Astrid! _Please_ " a young man about the age of twenty-one with wild auburn hair and equally wild greengage eyes was running frantically about the hut grabbing at various items from shelves and rushing about as if ragnarok was on the horizon.  
He only stopped briefly to stamp out the flames of a small fire that was starting at the base of a table leg beside him; caused by his clumsiness as he knocked a candle over whilst hurrying to get to his wife's side.

"What is it? What's happening? Talk to me baby" He tenderly brushed her sweat-drenched bangs from her cheeks with shaking hands, offering her the most comforting smile he could manage.

"It's the baby! **Hiccuuup**!" Another scream sounded out as she spasmed under the strain.

"It's okay Astrid, just relax and-"

"Relax! You tell _me_ to relax?! I can't _believe_ you!" The blonde aggressively swiped the side of Hiccup's head, she was _not_ coping well with childbirth.

"Well what in Thor's name am I supposed to do?! I don't know what it's like to have a baby!" Hiccup rubbed at the tender spot, not sure where he should put his hands or what he should even say.

"Just get the damn thing out of me!" She screamed, her crying and wailing a continuous background noise by this point.

" _ **Pllleeeeasseeee**_!" Another shudder wracked her body.

"Okay love, give me a moment" Hiccup let go of her face and ran to the door, pulling it open and running into the bitter night air.  
"Somebody, _anybody_! **Help! Please!** " He called out, praying to Thor that someone would hear him and come to his aid.

A door opened a few metres away and a curious yet anxious face peered out,  
"Are you alright chief?" The middle-aged warrior walked out to meet the boy, distress written across her kindred face.  
"It's my wife," Hiccup began, "She's having our baby-"  
"Take me to her"  
Hiccup did as he was told and hurried the large woman to his home, standing aside to let her in before shutting the door behind them.

"It's alright my dear, just breathe deeply," she made her way over the pain-stricken blonde, holding her hand and stroking it rhythmically.  
"Everything is going to be alright" she spoke in a soothing voice, her accent thick with a motherly tone and the wild ruggedness of the place where she grew up.

"It hurts!" Astrid choked back a sob and clutched the sweat-drenched bedsheets.  
"I know love, I know it does" she brushed the young woman's fringe out her eyes and reassured her that everything was going alright.  
"You're doing fine my love, keep going"

"What do _I_ do?!" Hiccup stood anxiously at the end of the bed, not sure where he should be and if he should say anything.  
"Just hold her hand and I'll take care of the rest" the woman instructed.

Hiccup nodded and took his wife's hand in his own; speaking softly and singing their song under his breath to her to calm her nerves.

The lad didn't clearly process the events that happened within the next few moments; it all went by so fast. Astrid screamed louder then ever before, and a high-pitched wailing that wasn't hers sounded out into the eerily still room.

"Oh! A baby girl, oh precious child" the Viking lady wrapped the child up in a spare fur blanket that was draped over the end of the bed, and offered the child out to her mother.

"Astrid?" Hiccup squeezed his wife's hand, she didn't move under his touch.  
"Baby?" Hiccup started panicking, "what's wrong with her?! What's happening?!" He turned to the woman, "is she okay?!"  
He turned back to her, shaking her shoulders and kissing her face again and again,  
"Please baby this isn't funny, are you hurting? Let me help you"

"Oh Gods Chief, I'm so sorry" the woman spoke out in a hushed and wounded tone, "she's... Gone..."

That was when Hiccup felt his whole world shatter into razor-sharp pieces, like a mirror broke inside his heart.  
He couldn't process it, he didn't understand.

"She's...," He couldn't bare to say the word ' _dead_ ' tears welled up in his eyes and he let them fall freely.

Toothless had flown in through the opening in Hiccup's bedroom ceiling and crooned out in anxiousness and upset when he saw the state of his rider and his best friend.  
He took one long and loving sniff at Astrid and realised what had happened, howling out his own cry of sorrow and pain; he loved Astrid too, she was a kind and gentle soul to him and all the other dragons.

"I'll leave you alone now, take her, she'll need you" the woman passed the crying baby into her father's arms, then lowly bowed her head in respect before quietly leaving the hut.

" **Astrid!** " Hiccup couldn't hold back the tears anymore, it couldn't be happening, not to him; not after everything else...

" **What more do you want from me?!** " He yelled at no-one in particular, " **you took my father! You took my _mother_! And now you've taken my wife?! What have I done to make you hate me so much?!** " He stopped screaming when the babies' cries brought him back to reality, soothing his rage at the same time; Immense sadness suddenly welled over the young chief, replacing the anger.  
Sobbing uncontrollably, he gazed down at fleshy pink bundle in his arms, she was so small.

"I'm so sorry" he kissed her forehead gently, "I'm so so sorry... _Valka_ "

He thought it was a fitting name; strong, after his mother; an influential figure in his life and beautiful lady both body and soul. He had lost his only remaining parent figure to sickness only four months after returning to Berk post defeating Drago and his army, only months after losing his father.

"You'll be safe, I'll look after you, sweet baby girl" her tiny fist clenched around her father's finger, gripping it tightly as she opened her beautiful green eyes to the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry, I just love the daddy!Hiccup side of this fandom and decided to do my own thing with it.  
> So as expected I made it sad and morbid and horrible bad things are going to happen in this story but good things too that will be all fluffy and melting~
> 
> All reviews are loved and cherished. Thank you.


	2. Chapter 2

_Kids grow up so fast. It seems like only one moment they can fit in the palms of your hands, and the next they're running around like startled sheep, yelling and barking at everything that moves._

_I was worried about Toothless at first, neither Astrid nor I knew how he would cope with not being the 'baby of the family' anymore once the child was born. He actually took it really well; he grew so attached to Valka..._

* * *

Hiccup yawned loudly and realised just how drained he felt; all the crying and the heartbreak had exhausted him both physically and mentally.

He looked forlornly at the gentle face of his wife and leaned down to place one final kiss on her lips before covering her respectfully with the bedcloth.

"I love you" he whispered, the words loud in the otherwise silent room. Turning away, he held their child in his arms and kissed her cheek tenderly.

"Time for bed baby girl" he carried the wriggling bundle of fur up to his and Astrid's room on the second floor of the hut, yawning and wiping any remaining tears from his eyes as he walked.

"Come on Tooth!" He shouted down the stairs to the Night Fury.

Moments later, the dragon was close behind his rider, crooning comfort and nuzzling gently at his back; he knew his master needed reassurance and Toothless was there to support him, always.

Hiccup briefly recalled a heated conversation between him and Astrid; she had told him that when the baby came he was to leave it in the wooden cot in the next room over, this was to teach it to be independent at an early age due to the fact that as parents, they wouldn't be around that much when it was growing up because they had to run the village. Hiccup hadn't agreed with her, arguing that babies needed love and attention and that they would have to make time for it and simply explain to the people why they couldn't be around as often. Astrid barred her teeth and explained that she'd already asked for Gobber to look after the child whilst they were busy; Hiccup still detested the idea and their argument had continued.

Hiccup breathed out an immense sigh of relief that he could take the baby into the room with him instead of leaving her like in Astrid's original plan; he lay Valka down on the soft, thick furs covering his and Astrid's bed as he removed his prosthetic leg and set it down carefully on the wooden floor beside him.

"Hey Val-" he cooed, waving his fingers at the girl who gurgled in delight and tried to grab the hand in front of her face. Hiccup laughed and scrunched up his nose, pulling silly faces at her until she quietened.

"Easily amused huh? Just like your mom..." Hiccup tried to ignore the pang of sorrow that stung his heart as he thought of Astrid once more; before he could stop himself he was letting the words flow from his mouth.

"You would have loved her Val, she was so kind and loving, when she wanted to be" he laughed, remembering all the times they had fought when they were just children; sometimes it got quite violent and one of them would end up getting hurt, more often than not Hiccup was the one who came out with the bruises from their scuffles due to his scrawny stature as a young lad, and the complete unwillingness to fight, it just wasn't in his blood.

"We used to have so much fun when we were kids, all of us, we had a team. We'd always be going out looking for new adventures to be had" a smile crossed Hiccup's face as he remembered what they had called themselves, 'the Defenders of Berk'

They'd each settled down into their own individual lives; Snoutlout had a family of his own. The twins, Ruffnut and Tuffnut had decided to stick together, even in their adulthood, and resolved to living happily in the single life; something extremely surprising for everyone given the fact that Ruffnut used to flirt with every new piece of meat that came her way.

The twins took the Academy over from Hiccup along with Fishlegs who had also remained single, but still kept an eye on the blonde for any changes in her status, and helped to train the new 'recruits' Gobber also went down sometimes for 'old times sake' to help out with his highly unusual methods of teaching, which often resulted in him being banned from the academy for another week.

"I'll take you down there when you're older sweetheart; you'll love it! Though I might have to keep you away from the twins, I don't know what they'd do with a baby..." He stifled a snigger and looked down at Valka; her eyelids were drooping and she yawned, trying desperately to keep her eyes open to look up at her father.

"Am I just that boring huh?" He joked, tickling her through the fur blanket. Valka made a quiet noise and Hiccup decided to call it a night. He wrapped his arms instinctively around his newborn child.

"'Night Tooth" Hiccup smiled as best he could through the pain of his broken heart at the Night Fury preparing his sleeping slab and closed his eyes, tomorrow was a new day, and there was much to be done.

* * *

Hiccup was stirred from an uneasy and nightmare-filled sleep by a loud piercing noise emitting close by his ear. The moon was still high and shining brightly in the purple-blue Autumn sky.

"What in the-?" He groggily opened his eyes and waited for them to shift into focus before he laid eyes on what was causing all the noise.

"Val?!" He sat upright suddenly and scooped the bundle from the mattress.

"What's wrong beautiful?" He fumbled in the dark for his prosthetic.

Toothless had been woken and blew a quick flame onto the dead fire to bring it back to life, allowing Hiccup to find his leg quickly and strap it back on.

"Do you know what's wrong with her?" He offered the baby out to Toothless who just stared at her blankly, snuffling her through the fur.

"You're _still_ a useless reptile!" The young Chief scolded and stood upright, grabbing a creamy coloured fur body warmer with a hood and pulling it on over the top of his armour that he had fallen asleep in.

He charged down the stairs with Toothless following close behind. He only had one back up plan in a crisis situation-,

" **Gobber**!" Hiccup knocked with a passion on the door to the smith's hut, it was located just at the side of the forge where the veteran worked.

" **Come out!** " The young Chief's teeth clattered in the biting cold. Even Summers on Berk were freezing, and it was a long way into Autumn...

He looked down at the baby in his arms and tried to wrap her up more securely in the blanket; she looked faint from the sudden temperature drop, spurring Hiccup on with more urgency.

" **Gobber! Open the door!** " He knocked louder this time.

The sound of objects crashing to the floor was heard from within, and not moments later, a very tied and _very_ irritated looking Gobber was standing in the doorway.

" **Hiccup?!** What-? What in Thor's name are ya doin' here laddy? Do ye even know what _time_ it is?" He rubbed his head and yawned loudly, the smell of his breath making Hiccup reel.

"Yes, yes I do, but I need your help!" Hiccup held out the crying baby to the disgruntled Viking.

"What is _that_?!" He pointed at the child, obviously not happy at being woken up because of something as trivial as a crying baby.

"I can't get her to stop crying, I checked her over quickly and she's not injured! I don't know what to do!" Hiccup explained.

"Get Astrid to sort it; why ye came here in the firs' place is a mystery to me"

Gobber was ready to go back into the warmth of his his hut when Hiccup made a desperate grab for his arm,

"No! **Wait!** Astrid... She can't help anymore" Hiccup felt his throat closing up.

"What do yeh mean?" Gobber wasn't the most emotional of Viking's, but he felt something in his heart throb as he saw Hiccup break down into tears on his doorstep.

"What in Thor's name happened to ya boy?" He ushered Hiccup into his hut before anyone else saw him in such an un-chiefly state.

"Did she leave yeh or something?" Gobber sat Hiccup down in an old wooden chair at the side of a table covered in various bits of clutter.

"You could say that..." Hiccup wiped at the tears that continued to streak down his freckled cheeks.

"Well, where'd she go?" Gobber raised a bushy eyebrow, "she run off or somethin'?"

"She _died_ Gobber..." The sentence came out as a mere choke; Valka had fallen quiet, disturbed by her father's behaviour.

" _Oh_... Hiccup" Gobber stood and pulled the young Chief into a awkward hug the best he could manage; Vikings weren't known for their caring manner.

"I don't know what to do Gobber" Hiccup held Valka closer to him, "she's so tiny, I don't know why she's crying... I'm a hopeless parent"

" **Don't say tha'!** " Gobber shouted suddenly, knocking the table back with a loud scrape; Valka started crying again.

"Sorry..." He sat back down quickly, fiddling with the hem of his shirt,

"It's okay baby, _shhhh_ " Hiccup rocked Valka backwards and forwards in his arms, smiling down at her and placing gentle kisses on her tiny forehead.

"I've never seen ye like this before" Gobber spoke more to himself then Hiccup, "you've changed"

"Yeah, I had to" Hiccup smiled meekly, grateful that his mentor and friend was there for him.

"She's probably just hungry" Gobber fished out a half-eaten chicken leg from the mess on the table,

"I don't think that's what babies eat..." Hiccup looked uncertainly at the meat in his friend's hand.

Gobber was about to speak again when a loud rumbling growl sounded from outside the hut,

"Oh Gods! I left Toothless out there, he's probably frightened to death about me!" Hiccup rushed to his feet and ran to the door to let the anxious dragon inside.

"Well no guesses as to why, ye did just start cryin' at the door for no given reason" Gobber spoke, not exactly comforting words, but he was trying in his own way.

"What do babies eat?" Hiccup tried to think, "oh, I know!" He cried, he could remember now; he had seen the Viking woman about the village giving their children milk.

"She needs milk!" Hiccup looked around Gobber's hut frantically,

"Sorry lad, haven't got any o' that nasty stuff here, but I got mead if it helps?" He offered.

"Erm, no" Hiccup knew where he could get some milk from, but she wouldn't be best pleased at being disturbed so late into the night.

"Thanks Gobber!" He waved goodbye to the Viking who dragged himself back towards the bed, and left the hut quietly.

"I sure hope she's in an accommodating mood..." Hiccup mumbled under his breath, holding his precious child close against his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It feels great going back to my old work and re-writing it.  
> As I've got better in English I can apply it more to my writing and hopefully I'm improving it somewhat!
> 
> Thanks for the reviews! Please keep them coming, and I hope you're enjoying this so far!


End file.
